Guns n’ Roses’ “Chinese Democracy” Coming To “Rock Band” April 14th

Get ready to sing like Axl and emulate whichever guitarist is in Guns n’ Roses these days: Gn’R debuted their song “Shackler’s Revenge” on Rock Band 2, and now Axl Rose will bring the rest of Chinese Democracy to the music video game on April 14th as a new batch of downloadable content. Thirteen tracks off Chinese Democracy — Rock Band is assuming you’ve already beat enough challenges to add “Shackler’s Revenge” to the in-game track list — will be available both in bulk and as individual tracks for Playstation 3 and XBox 360, while the Wii will only sell CD as individual tracks.

At least Axl is finally doing something to promote this album after failing to tour (so far) or give interviews through conventional channels or even release that video for “Better” that’s just sitting on a editing dock somewhere. As the album has failed to reach sales expectations since its release as a Best Buy exclusive on November 23rd, making the entire LP available to players might expose Axl’s long-in-the-works Chinese Democracy to a larger audience, ingraining itself into the skulls of users who might not have cared for “Street of Dreams” at first listen. Plus, people seem to use the Rock Band and Guitar Hero series as a way to discover new music. We have a friend who had never heard the Cars’ self-titled album until it became available in its entirety on Rock Band 2 in May 2008. Rock Band is the new MTV.

While tracks like “Better” and “Scraped” seem almost tailor made for a Rock Band release, we’re curious how the ballad “This I Love” will make the jump to Rock Band as it’s all piano and vocals until the guitar solo kicks in around the three-minute mark. Chinese Democracy was ranked Rolling Stone’s 12th best album of 2008. Gn’R become the latest band to have an entire album playable through RB, joining the Pixies, Foo Fighters, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Megadeth, Judas Priest and more.

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Miranda Lambert

Miranda Lambert fans are in for a treat. She is debuting her new song on the ACM today. What's the title of her new song? "Dead Flowers". Here is what EW.com had to say about the new song:

6:33 Miranda says "Dead Flowers" -- which as far as I can tell comes down to the heartbroken protagonist now considering their life/love a waste, much like the titular subjects -- wasn't inspired by a specific event or person, just an image. "I got some flowers for Valentine's Day, and I had to leave town. So I threw them in the yard, and when I got home I saw them laying there and thought it was so sad," she said. "I just connected to it." The song came together fast, and she threw it into her recording sessions at the last minute; her nerves are pretty high in terms of debuting it on the telecast, but she has faith in her band to pull her through.

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ACM Awards

Here are some reasons why you need to watch the ACM awards:

1. Brooks & Dunn & Taylor Swift & Sugarland & Carrie Underwood & Rascal Flatts. Here's one for those with short attention spans. Nearly everything the ACMs have to offer in a tidy little 7 minutes! Host/country royalty Reba McEntire introduces the show by informing us that duo Brooks & Dunn is one of the most acclaimed acts in the history of the awards, but what follows isn't there time to shine. Instead, Brooks & Dunn become the anchor for whizz-bang medley. Swift rocked out with "Picture to Burn," looking more assured than ever. Underwood showed off her near-perfect vocals with a brief turn at "All American Girl," Sugarland was delightfully poppy and Rascal Flatts represented some country good ol' boys. "That's what I call a stimulus package," McEntire said. We'd rather have cash, but it was a solid opening. B+

2. Kenny Chesney's "Out Last Night." The lead single from his upcoming greatest hits package is a pleasant enough up-tempo rocker, representing immediately how country award shows are different from the Grammys. Less than 15 minutes in, and we have an ode to being drunk. Rather than approach anything dangerous or reckless, Chesney spins this tale of hangin' at the local bar into a neat little slice of nostalgia. B.

3. Heidi Newfield's "Johnny and June." Standing in the center of a little circular fire moat, former Trick Pony singer Newfield tried to bring a bit of a rebellious edge to her her ode to Johnny and June Carter Cash. She handled the elements better than Swift last year, when the artist was dumped with water, and did her best to turn the cut into an arm-raiser. But standing around some fire doesn't necessarily bring any to the song. B-

4. Toby Keith's "God Love Her." Hey kids, you can be a little rock 'n' roll devil and ride your motorcycle, but that doesn't mean you're allowed to forgo your Bible studies. Keith's recent country hit was bar-band-fun, accentuated here with a little horn section. Huey Lewis & the News with a slide guitar. C+

5. Jamey Johnson's "In Color." The first ballad of the night comes from newcomer-ish Johnson. The cut has already won song of the year, and it's not. Performing largely in black-and-white here, this one is aimed straight for your heart. Isn't it sweet how he inspires us to reminisce about our grandmother and high school teacher? No. Skip the song and look through your photo album: C-

6. George Strait's "Troubadour." Enough. No more songs about looking back and remembering when you were young and raising hell and hanging out with tough-as-heck women. Strait suffers here because the show is one hour old, and this is already the fifth song about how good things used to be way back when. Nashville, no wonder why Swift is your biggest star right now. She stands out because she doesn't yet have a past to sing sappy songs about. What saves Strait here is he understands his mortality and place in the world. B-

7. Taylor Swift's "You're Not Sorry." OK, so the performance hasn't even started, and we have to deduct an automatic half point here because Swift was introduced to the stage via a David Copperfield magic trick and Pop & Hiss is strictly anti-illusionists. Nothing really country about this tune, as this is pure ol'-fashioned power ballad. Swift doesn't have the strongest voice, and she's better rocking out than singing at a piano. A backing string section, however, kicks in to save her from having to hit any high notes. After the performance, Swift gets an award for selling lots of records. At first, it seemed like an impromptu little thing, but Swift had an acceptance speech at the ready. C. (But if there had been no magic: C+)

8. Lady Antebellum's "I Run to You." The first moment of the night that's close to a current-events reference, with this Grammy-nominated country trio singing about the power of love no matter how crazy this mixed up world gets. It's a perfectly acceptable, perfectly forgettable mid-tempo tune. C-

--Todd Martens

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